Apparatus for teaching dancing



S. E. FEIST. APPARATUS FOR TEACHING DANCING.'l APPLICATION FILED JULY 22.1920.

` 1,374,849. I Patented Apr. 12,1921.

A TOHNEYS WIT/VES S I NORRIS PETERS. |NC:. Lnno wAsmNcvvoN D .C

SIDNEY E. FEIST, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR TEAGHINGTTJANCING.

nesesito.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented ADL 12, 1921.

Application filed July 22, 1920. Serial No.'398,277.

To @ZZ whom t may concern Be it known that l, SIDNEY E. Fiiis'r, a

, citizen of the United `States, and a resident i in substantially any direction.

of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, hav-e invented a new and useful `ippaiatus for Teaching Dancing, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

."lhis invention relates to an apparatus for teaching dancing, and has for an object to provide an improved construction which will automatically cause a person to assume a proper position when dancing.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for causing a male stu* dent to lead in a proper manner.

A further object, more specifically, is the provision of a form or dummy and ksupporting-ineens therefor which will cause a student to gov through the proper movements lin dancing when using the forni as a partner, the form causing the student to initiate all the moves and thereby experience the necessity of acting on his own initiative.

n the accompanying drawing:

liligure 1 is a sectional view through the upper part of a room with an apparatus embodying the invention Vshown applied thereto. i

Fig. 2 is a front view of a figure and a support therefor embodying certain features of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the ligure shown in rig. 2, the saine having certain parts n broken away for illustrating the construction thereof.

Referring to the accompanying drawing by numerals, 1 indicates a room of any kind which is provided with a track 2 connected with the ceiling or supported an appreciable distance from the floor iiiany desired manner. l rack 2 is preferably an'I-beam structure, as shown in liig. 2, so as to accommodate the rollers or wheels 3 and 4: carried by the bracket 5. This bracket is connected to a supporting rod 6 by a universal joint or connection 7 whereby the rod 6 may swing The rod 6 extends downwardly and through an opening 8 in the head of the figure 9. The

lower end of the rod 6 is connected with a spring 10 which lin turn is connected with a rod 11, said rod being clamped rigidly to a partition member 12 forming part of the ligure 9 whereby said figure is supported and is resiliently held in` substantially the position shown in Fig.2 by-vreason of the spring 10. Below they partition 12 there is provided a chamber'l?) into which the rod 11 extends', said rod having a stop enlargement lil at the lower end. On the rod 11 in chamber 13 are arranged a number of weights 15 which are preferably removable. Preferably these weights are formed with a slot extending from the periphery to slightly past the center so that they may bejsliding-ly tted in position over rod 11'and thereby add to the weight of ligure 9. A

1 suitable door 16 is arranged at the yback of the ligure 9, which is preferably supported by suitable hinges and normally held closed Y by a suitable catch.`

.The ligure 9 conforms to the usualshape of the upper part of a natural body and is shown as representinga woman. The' arms 17 and 18 of the figure are preferably ar-A y ticulated at the shoulders and elbows in any desired manner so that theywill remain in any position in which they are placed, though `easily movable therefrom. At a suitablelpoint on the back of the figure 9 is arranged a hand retaining member 19 which is preferably/,a strap and buckle structure whereby the hand ofthe pupil may be strapped to the ligure in substantially the correct position.

Inoperation, in teaching amale pupilto dancethe right hand of the pupil is passed partially around the figure and is clamped in place by the clamping memberk 19. The instructor then positions the arins 17 and 18 correctly in respect to the pupil and re-v quires the pupil to place his left hand in correct position on the end of the arm 17. After having been correctly positioned by the instructor the pupil then takes the p proper steps and pulls the ligure 9with him whichnaturally causes him to learn to lead when dancing with Va natural person... vAs

figure may freely rotate by reason 'of the universal connectionl Z and may move f around the rooin by reason ofthe track 2 and the connection of the rod 6 therewith.

It will be of course undestood that the pupil quired to dance with the figure withoutiio prompting from the instructor except occasionally, and this exercise is continued until the pupil has not only learned to lead properly, but to place his hand properly and to take the proper steps all simultaneously. In the act of dancing the rod or bar 6 is swung to one side whenever desired, but usually the dummy or ligure 9 remains in a vertical position as it pivots or turns on the universal pivot or connection 7. The opening 8 in the hea-d of the figure is sulicient to allow this movement to a large extent in order not to in any way interfere with the free action of the pupil in dancing with the figure.

What I claim is:

l. An apparatus for teaching dancing comprising a gure, a track and means suspended from said track for supporting thc figure so that the figure may swing, rotate and at the same time move in a substantially circular path in a general horizontal direction.

2. An apparatus for teaching dancing comprising a swinging dummy provided with adjustable arms7 and a movable support arranged above the dummy on which said dummy is swung whereby a pupil may move the dummy in a substantially horizontal direction in a circular path.

3. An apparatus for teaching dancing comprising a dummy provided with arms articulated at the joints whereby they may be positioned as desired during a lesson, means for securing one hand of a pupil to the dummy, and means for supporting the dummy so that the pupil may rotate the same and move the same in a substantially horizontal direction.

4. An apparatus for teaching dancing comprising a dummy provided with arms, a supporting rod connected with the dummy,

a supporting track, means for connecting' the supporting rod with the supporting track, said means including anti-friction members adapted to roll along said track, and a universal joint whereby the rod may swing in any direction desired as it moves along said track.

5. An apparatus for teaching dancing comprising Va dummy formed with a chamber, a swinging supporting rod for said dummy, a track for supporting the supporting rod so that it may be moved horizontally, and a plurality of removable weights arranged in said chamber whereby the weight of the dummy may be varied to suit the pupil.

6. An apparatus for teaching dancing comprising a dummy formed with a pair of chambers, a supporting rod extending into one or' said chambers, a spring connected with the end of said supporting rod, means for connecting the opposite end of said spring to the dummy whereby the dummy is resiliently supported, a plurality of removable weights arranged in one of said chambers, and meansI for supporting said supporting rod so that the rod and dummy may swing and at the same time move in a horizontal direction.

7. An apparatus for teaching dancing comprising an endless elevated track, antifriction members engaging said track, a suspension member engaging said anti-friction member, a universal joint connected with said suspension member, a rodv connected with said universal joint, a dummy connected with said rod and supported thereby, and means for securing one handp'of a pupil to the dummy whereby the pupil may swing, turn and move the dummy in substantially any direction while followinor said track.

SIDNEY; n. Fnisr. 

